I guess I'm not much of a blogger, but here are a few pictures of our Summer fun for 2011:
Savannah and Anna relaxing during our 4th of July party.
We went to Willamette Mission Mill for the Civil War Reenactment again this year on July 4th.
Alena started playing Cello, but switched to violin after about a month, and joined the school orchestra. Here she is at her first official concert.
Alena's 10th birthday party consisted of a picnic and swim with friends.
We recently did a service project with our ward and there was a tractor on the property, so the kids investigated, as all good home schooled kids must.
The girls have had lots of fun with our neighbors down the street.
We went to Bella Beach with Shonee's folks. Beautiful weather!
This is my favorite memento of the Bella Beach trip. It helps me remember the fun times, rather than the loud music, loud swearing in the middle-of-the-night time. (Not me, the neighbor.)
Montana got to go to Scout Camp for the first time this year. He had a great time.
He earned 4 merit badges, including Canoeing.
Shonee went on a five day backpack with some friends in the Three Sisters wilderness. He took some absolutely beautiful shots, including the ones above and below.
"Our State Fair is a great State Fair, don't miss it, don't even be late!"
Climbing on the giant rock walls is always a highlight of the state fair.
Wilcox Family Reunion at Pacific City. Savannah made such a pretty mermaid.
Everyone got along so well, and it was such a fun weekend!
Look at that beautiful progeny.
It was so easy to keep track of everyone on the beach with their matching white shirts and jeans.
Emma got her ears pierced on her 8th birthday. She didn't shed a single tear over it!
Emma getting ready for her baptism.
She was so happy to be baptized on Sept. 17th.
Shonee and I took a four day trip to hike the Herman Creek Trail in the Gorge.
It was a stunning view from the top! But what a climb.
We also hiked with Shonee's folk on the Henline Falls trail. It was kinda wet that day, but still lots of fun.
I honestly don't know where Shonee was on this hike, because he's hiked more than 100 trail miles this year.
And this one, wow! This was Henline Mountain. We snowshoed up this trail in January, but lost our way before reaching the top. Shonee wanted to conquer it with me, so we made another effort this summer. It was really strenuous, but oh-so-pretty at the top. We could see the smoke from the Sisters area fires that burned in late August. In fact, we watched a helicopter trek across the horizon a few times while we sat up there eating our lunch. There was a little box with paper and pencil to record our names and how long it took us to hike up. We were one of only a few in August, and one of the fastest too!
The girls did a two week music camp our stake music leader put on. She toured nationwide as Christine in Phantom of the Opera. Wow! What a unique opportunity!
Here's the rest of the kids getting in on the tractor action.
Montana is really enjoying being a boy scout. He just completed all his requirements for First Class, just needs the board of review.
Monte and Rebecca took Alena and Emma on a Jet boat tour. They are in the fourth row back.
One of many delicious bar-b-que dinners we enjoyed this summer. Yumm!
Savannah has been learning to swim in our pool. The other kids are all water babies. I could hardly get them out sometimes.
Savannah posing as one of Marion County's 10 Most Wanted food donation items. Our ward hauled and dropped off tons of garlic to the Marion County Food Bank for a service project. The kids weren't too thrilled when I told them that was our field trip, but they admit that it was fun. Donut holes helped.
Our awesome new tent that withstands all kinds of weather. And our awesome dog that didn't withstand my perfectionism. He's so happy at his new home!
This is Shellburg Falls, a hidden gem near Silvercreek Falls that is absolutely gorgeous, and not too hard of a hike, either.
At the Shellburg Falls campground, the only water comes from this well. It tastes terrible, so we brought our own water in jugs. It's awfully fun to pump the well, though.
I can't tell you how much fun we've had this summer. It felt really busy, and looking back, I guess it really was. We made lots of memories and spent most of our time doing things we love with people we love. Doing home school with four kids was kind of a relief after all that busy fun!
